FBI Director Kash Patel revealed Thursday that the Dallas ICE facility shooter left behind a handwritten note threatening to bring “real terror” to immigration agents, while evidence shows he conducted research on ballistics and the Charlie Kirk assassination before his attack.
The note recovered from 29-year-old Joshua Jahn read: “Hopefully this will give ICE agents real terror, to think, ‘is there a sniper with AP rounds on that roof?'” Patel said, referring to armor-piercing bullets.
Jahn opened fire Wednesday morning from a nearby rooftop at the Dallas Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office, killing one detainee and critically wounding two others before taking his own life. The FBI is investigating the attack as “targeted violence.”
Patel said evidence obtained from devices, data and writings at the shooting site, the shooter’s body and his residence indicates “a high degree of pre-attack planning.”
“He conducted multiple searches of ballistics and the ‘Charlie Kirk Shot Video’ between 9/23-9/24,” Patel wrote on social media. “Between 8/19-8/24, he searched apps that tracked the presence of ICE agents.”
The FBI director revealed Jahn also “downloaded a document titled ‘Dallas County Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management’ containing a list of DHS facilities.”
Shell casings found at the scene included one bullet engraved with “ANTI-ICE” written in blue ink, similar to the engraved bullets used in recent high-profile shootings including the Charlie Kirk assassination and the UnitedHealthcare CEO killing.
The attack occurred as ICE officers were transferring detainees from a van into the facility. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the shooter fired “indiscriminately” at the building, with bullet holes found throughout the structure.
“We know that there was bullet holes all over the building. It wasn’t just targeted at one specific area or through a window,” Noem said. The shooter “was very much focused on hitting anyone that he could inside and making sure that they were victims of this attack.”
Vice President JD Vance called Jahn “a violent left-wing extremist” who was “politically motivated” based on evidence not yet made public. President Trump blamed “radical left Democrats” for the violence.
The shooting has surprised those who knew Jahn. His brother Noah told NBC News, “He didn’t have strong feelings about ICE as far as I knew.” A former Boy Scout troop member described Jahn as someone who was “against” gun violence, making the attack “even more surprising.”
Public records show Jahn registered as an independent voter in Oklahoma and was previously charged with marijuana delivery in Texas in 2016, pleading guilty to the felony charge.
The Dallas facility had been targeted before. Last month, 36-year-old Bratton Dean Wilkinson was arrested after arriving at the facility claiming he had a bomb in his backpack.
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said all ICE facilities nationwide have been placed on higher alert following the attack. DHS reported that assaults against its officers have risen eightfold since Trump began mass deportations.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called on Democrats to stop “demonizing the heroic men and women of ICE who are just doing their jobs to keep Americans safe.”
FBI Dallas and FBI Headquarters continue working to process all evidence seized from the investigation.